In prior centuries, the tulip had often appeared as a stylized motif across media. Yet unlike those earlier works, this single-folio painting of the flower pays particular attention to chiaroscuro by applying gradations of color in delicate blends to emphasize shadows and highlights. This study of a tulip is signed by Muhammad Isma‘il and dated to the 1708/9.

Though tulips had a long history in the Ottoman visual repertoire, they took on new importance as the defining emblem of a relatively peaceful and artistically experimental period for the empire. Known as the Tulip Era, the timespan between 1718 - 1730 under Sultan Ahmed III (r. 1703-1730) was marked by high degrees of conspicuous consumption and cultural exchange in numerous directions. Most notably, Ottomans intensified their political relations with Europe, ushering in new trends in trade and production. In painting, these developments manifested early on as artists embraced more naturalistic portrayals of subjects, seen in this study of a tulip. The flower may have been drawn from life, or just as likely recreated from one of the many European botanical prints that made their way to the Ottoman empire. The artist’s prominent signature is a feature that would become more commonly applied to Ottoman paintings during this century, most notably by successors, such as Levni (d. 1732) and Abdullah Buhari (active mid 18th c.).

Additionally, the painting points to wider modes of collecting and book production during this period. The découpaged borders suggest that this work once resided in an album--the premier form of collecting works on paper--though single-folio paintings of tulips became increasingly popular outside of these contexts as well. By the time of this painting’s creation, floral compendiums or shukufenames celebrated the array of flowers cultivated in the Ottoman empire. Descriptions and verse often accompanied paintings closely resembling the composition seen here. Such texts sometimes also acted as biographies for famous horticulturalists of the age, who became known by the specific species of plants they grew.

• Binney, Edwin, 3rd. "Turkish Arts of the Book in the Binney Collection." Arts of Asia 17, no.6 (Nov/Dec 1987): 97-104.
• Denny, Walter B.  Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edward Binney, 3rd.  Portland, OR:  Portland Art Museum, 1979.

• Pal, Pratapaditya, Thomas W. Lentz, Sheila R. Canby, Edwin Binney, 3rd, Walter B. Denny, and Stephen Markel. "Arts from Islamic Cultures: Los Angeles County Museum of Art." Arts of Asia 17, no. 6 (November/December 1987): 73-130.